Happy New Year! I Just Stole Your Car!!!!

This just in … New Year’s Day is the second most popular holiday for car thieves.

A new study from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (pdf) reports that New Year’s Day is the No. 2 holiday for car theft, with 2,286 vehicles reported stolen in 2011.

No surprise, Halloween clocked in at No. 1 — with 2,328 thefts reported in 2011, according to the NICB report.

So why the heck is New Year’s so popular with car thieves?

Most experts speculate that the heavy use of alcohol at holiday parties, which makes revelers more careless about where they park their ride, is a major factor in the uptick in illegal activity.

An interesting write-up from TheCarConnection.com on the NICB study pointed out that Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day had the lowest reported thefts among all big holidays. That report pointed out that, unlike New Year’s, those holidays are more family-focused and end up with revelers most like at or near their home — instead of carousing downtown.

Well, it’s 2013, don’t wait around to end up like the “other guy” — resolve to keep your vehicle safe with a Viper system right away!